My fearless prediction if Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne wins another minority government with New Democrats and Andrea Horwath holding the balance of power?

This province will see a credit downgrade. The cost of borrowing will increase. As it is, it’s the third biggest spending item in the provincial government after health and education.

Wynne’s May 1 budget gave not a nod to restraint and Horwath’s platform released Thursday simply plays into that wanton spending.

Instead, of the ministry of savings that Horwath has announced, what we really need is a ministry of debt.

It would be the third biggest ministry of government.

Looking at figures from Abacus Data Inc., this province is incomprehesibly bent on giving Wynne and the Liberals yet another chance to govern this province with their trademark scandals, boondoggles and mismanagement.

For some utterly bizarre reason, Wynne is ahead as the most premierial leader. She scored 26% compared to PC Tim Hudak’s 20% and Horwath’s 20%.

Polling numbers show the Liberals and Tories tied at 33%, with Horwath and the NDP behind at 26%.

Horwath has finally started to hold the Liberals’ feet to the fire for the scandals and mismanagement that have plagued their government.

“Ontarians are tired of this Liberal government. They’re tired of the waste and scandal — and Ontarians need to know that it’s not inevitable to have a government that disrespects you in that way,” Horwath told reporters.

Her message was all about respect — for you, your tax dollars, for decent government.

Asked why she didn’t support the Liberal budget, thus causing this election, when her own platform is so close to the Liberal one, Horwath said the answer was simple: New Democrats are the left-wing party - without the scandals.

“People deserve a better government. They deserve a government that respects their tax dollars,” she said.

“They respect a government that actually accomplishes the things they promise. They have not seen that with the Liberals,” she said.

No one’s more relieved, I’m sure, that Horwath’s finally unveiled her election platform than Hudak.

The Tories need them to appeal to the left-wing of Liberal support in some key ridings. And until now, it has been a two-way horse race, with Horwath nowhere in sight.

Horwath is planning to increase corporate taxes by 1%. They’ll take the 8% provincial portion of the HST off hydro, and cut insurance rates by 15%.

I’m not quite sure how they’ll manage to tell a private industry what to charge for their products.

A spokesman for the insurance industry says the plan is naive.

“It’s too simplistic. There’s no recognition of how complex the product is and how it operates,” said Insurance Bureau of Canada spokesman Ralph Palumbo.

Last year’s budget — which the NDP supported — set out a two-stage process to reach the 15% goal.

It was supposed to achieve 8% in August of this year and 7% in 2015.

“The regulator FISCO reported in January that, on average across the market, rates have come down just under 6%. It’s on target for the 8% for this year. Now that’s not fast enough,” he said.

Palumbo suggested the best way to get a break on your car insurance is to shop around.

The NDP will also freeze post-secondary tuition and make student loans interest-free.

Look, this province has to get spending under control to avoid a financial crisis down the road.

Wynne’s ludicrous budget only drove us deeper into the hole.

Horwath’s plan isn’t much better.

I’d like the government to give me a 15% cut to my car insurance.

I’d also like a cute little pony and a chateau on the Loire.

Sadly, they can’t do any of those either. They shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep.